Auschwitz

Auschwitz, the German Nazi Concentration and
Extermination Camp, is situated in town of Oswiecim - 70 km west of
Krakow. In World War 2 it killed about one million men,
women and children, most of them Jewish.

Travel
to Auschwitz from Krakow

Public
transport.

Buses and trains
leave for
Oswiecim from
Krakow's central
stations. Buses
are frequent,
more reliable,
and they stop
next to the
Auschwitz site
while the
Oswiecim train
station is three
kilometers away.
Travel by bus or
rail takes under
two hours. The
fares are an
equivalent of
about 3 euro one
way.

By car.

Most convenient
for motorists
driving from
Krakow to
Oswiecim is the paid four-lane expressway
to Katowice (exit to Chrzanow after some 20
minutes). The journey lasts about an hour.

Visiting
Auschwitz

Actually it's
two sites,
Auschwitz and
Birkenau (aka
Auschwitz II),
located 3
kilometers
apart. It takes minimum an
hour to see each. One may visit just one of them but you'd
better see both.
There is no
entrance fee. A
free bus runs between Auschwitz and Birkenau from April 15th to October
31st every 60 minutes (departures from Birkenau on the hour and
from Auschwitz
30 minutes
later).

Opening hours.

Auschwitz proper
and the Birkenau site
keep the same
hours and both
stay closed on January
1, December 25,
and Easter
Sunday.

In January open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In February open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In March open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In April open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In May open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In June open 8
a.m. to 7 p.m.
In July open 8
a.m. to 7 p.m.
In August open 8
a.m. to 7 p.m.
In September open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In October open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In November open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In December open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Please
note that April 1st through October 31st individual tourist may
see the Auschwitz proper (a.k.a. Auschwitz I) from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m.
till closing time because hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. are
reserved for guided tours only. No such restrictions at the Birkenau site
(Auschwitz II).

Individual
visitors may join a four-hour guided tour of Auschwitz/Birkenau
at a cost of 38 PLN (Polish zloty). English tours start at
9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., half past noon, 1:30
p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
Other foreign-language tours are available - German at 10:30
p.m., noon, and 1:30 p.m., Italian at 10:30 p.m., noon, and
1:30 p.m., Spanish at noon and 2 p.m., and French at 10:30
p.m., noon, and 1:30 p.m.